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Four benefits of having a diverse workforce in your business

A diverse workforce has the potential to not only benefit you and your staff, but your customers too! An inclusive team can harness new ideas and strengthen networks and communities.

A team with a diverse range of work and life experiences can enrich your company culture and brand.
And by becoming a more diverse workplace, you will open the door to new and wider talent pools.

But for some businesses, setting diversity as a key objective may lead to difficulties. Especially if their focus becomes blurred through the uncertainty of what it really means to form an inclusive and diverse workforce.

The benefits of a diverse workforce

Below we touch on some of the benefits of diversity. We provide a few tips on how to attract talent from a wider pool of candidates, as well as managing and retaining a more diverse workforce.

1) Be open to harnessing new ideas from your current staff members. Even a little change to the structure of one of your business processes can allow you to identify new and upcoming business trends.

2) When recruiting, ask to review CVs without knowing the name, gender, age, nationality, etc, of the applicant. This can help to minimise bias and organically grow a diverse workforce.

3) Create a diversity and inclusion strategy which goes beyond simply focusing upon legal compliance. This can add value to your organisation through boosting employee well-being and engagement. It also allows you to improve business performance through a wider focus.

4) Nurture the development of diversity in the workforce. Focus on new areas of growth in both your business performance and your staff members’ skill sets. These may become a new unique selling proposition for your business.

Having a diverse workforce, though, takes more than just recruiting the right people. Integrating the team and making everyone feel valued is essential if you are to gain the benefits.

Stay inclusive to maintain a diverse workforce and staff wellbeing

Focusing upon diversity can bring many benefits to your business. But make sure you are not pushing an idealised image of diversity. You don’t want to risk making your current staff feel they do not fit the mould of your new ‘diverse’ workforce.

It is important to remember diversity is about a range of differences – and these differences can be as big or as small as you like!

If you would like to find out more about recruiting a diverse workforce for your business, contact your local HR Dept expert.